Back Home
by Amazing TEEN Authoress
Summary: Katrina Cullen finally returns home to her family after years of world travel. When Bella Swan enters her family's life, what does the future hold for the vampire world? Something tells her it will never be the same again...


**Hi guys! Another story for you! This story has another one of my original characters, and she's by far the most developed. I've been working on her ever since I saw ****_twilight_**** for the first time, about three or four years ago. Pictures of what my character kind of looks like will be posted as a link on my profile page. The first is her up to the last parts of the story, and then the second is her after James's attack on Bella and the studio fire. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. I only own all unrecognizable names.**

* * *

I was driven to the airport in a brand-new 2006 Honda Accord with the windows rolled down. It was a blissful 86 degrees here in Houston, Texas, but I tried not to let it get to me. I couldn't let the sun change my decision. It's not like I was moving for the weather. It would be quite the climate change when I stepped off the airplane, looked out the window, and saw the pouring rain. I checked the weather for Forks on my Nokia 7370, and saw that, of course, it was raining. I groaned inwardly. This would probably be my last glimpse of sun for a long time.

The car finally stopped at the airport. Uncle John got my suitcases out- I had just two- my computer bag, which held my laptop and my iPod Nano, along with several pairs of earbuds and headphones. The ones I had kept fading I out, so they stocked me with several pairs of each kind so I wouldn't be without a pair. They knew I loved listening to music.

Uncle John didn't bother coming into the airport. He was the one person who wasn't sucked in by my aura. People always felt drawn to me, wanted to be near me, because of my aura of comfort. People felt comfortable around me. That was why I'd been so useful to the Volturi. I'd made a visit to them in 20th-Century Italy, and Eleazar, then a member, had told Aro that I had a power that drew others to me, and was invited to join to keep criminals at ease before they killed them. That wasn't what they told me, of course. They'd said that I would be of great help keeping negotiations and visits running peacefully without a fight. I later learned what their real intentions were, and, when I did find out, I was so horrified that I left.

Aunt Isabel said that she'd leave me at customs. "Make sure to call me," she said as she hugged me goodbye. "We're always home."

"I will," I promised.

She kissed my cheek and helped me set my things on the conveyor belt. I stepped into security, was cleared to go, and stepped out the other side. I put my shoes back on, got my bags, turned around the corner, and then she was gone. I'd only been to the airport twice, once when we'd gone to Orlando, Florida, and another when we'd visited Stuttgart, Germany, but I found my way to the gate pretty easily. I boarded the plane forty-five minutes later.

When I landed in Forks, it was raining. I wasn't upset by it, but it was unavoidable. Perfect weather for my family, though. I could see why they'd moved here.

I stopped at a dumpy motel for the night, and stayed checked in the next morning, though I remained checked in the next morning. I did, however, go to school. I'm fifteen, and currently in tenth grade. Since I can't drive yet, I took a cab to school, and told myself I'd stop by Pacific Northwest Motorbikes later to get myself a motorcycle. I had a license, though I was underage, and had taken the test because my brain was more mature for my age.

When I arrived at school, I went to the secretary's office. The secretary was a redhead named Mrs. Cope. "I'm Katrina Cullen," I informed her.

"Ah, yes," Mrs. Cope said. "Dr. Cullen's daughter. He told me you'd be here sometime this week. I have your schedule, and a map of the building. Your first class is here." She circled the location with a red pen.

"Thanks," I said, and headed off to my first class. I had trigonometry with Mr. Varner.

"Hello, there," Mr. Varner said, shaking my hand like an adult. I bet he didn't do that with any of his other students. "I assume you're Ms. Cullen. Welcome. Here's your pass and your books, and you can take the seat right beside Sydney there." He gestured to a tall girl with blue eyes and platinum blonde hair that I was sure she'd dyed, as I noticed hints of brown hair beneath it.

"Hello," I said cheerfully, trying to be nice. "I'm Kate."

"Sydney," the girl grumbled, and shook my hand.

"That's part of my name!" I exclaimed, but kept it hushed. "You want the full name? It's a mouthful. I have three last names. One's my mother's maiden name, another is one from her first marriage, and one's my father's. My middle name is my mother's middle name."

"Just give it to me," Sydney sighed.

"Okay, okay!" I cried in a hushed voice. "It's Katrina-Sydney Anne Platt Evenson Cullen."

Sydney stared at me like I was crazy. "Why do you have all those last names?" she asked.

"I like it that way," I explained. "Of course, my student file just has Katrina Anne Cullen, but I like my full name, as well."

Sydney and I continued to chat throughout the class. We established that we were both fans of the Chicago Bears hockey team, watched hockey every Saturday night with our families, and went out to dinner at some fancy restaurant if Chicago won.

"I guess our families are alike!" I exclaimed once we'd established all that at the end of class. She invited me to sit with her and her friends at lunch, and I accepted.

I sat down at Sydney's table in between a tall Japanese girl and an equally tall girl with auburn hair and brown eyes.

"Guys, this is Kate," Sydney said, nodding at me.

"Look at my Zebra, making friends!" the auburn-haired girl cried and hugged Sydney protectively. "It's Justine," she added.

"I'm Emma," said the Japanese girl beside me.

"Sarah," a short girl with dark brown hair who also looked Japanese, but not as much as Emma.

I noticed five teenagers coming inside. One looked familiar, the rest I didn't recognize.

"Eee!" Emma exclaimed. "Here they come!"

"Oh, shut up, Emma!" Justine snapped.

Emma fell silent, but the admiring smile on her face didn't falter. I was confused to why everyone was reacting this way to these five ordinary kids.

"Who are they?" I decided to ask.

"They're the Cullens," Sarah explained. My mouth dropped open. No wonder not one, but two, of them looked familiar. One was Edward, my elder brother, and the other was Rosalie, who I supposed would have to be my sister when I got home. "They're, um, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They moved down from Alaska, like, a few years ago. Too bad they're not available, though."

"Yeah, 'cause they're, like, together," Emma added. "Like, together, together."

"The blonde one, Rosalie, and the big, dark-haired guy, Emmett, they're like, a thing," Justine grumbled. "I'm not even sure that's legal."

"Justine, they're not actually related," Emma reminded her.

"The little dark-haired girl's Alice, and she's really weird," Justine continued. "And she's with Jasper, the blonde one who looks like he's in pain."

"And then there's Edward." Emma sighed lustfully on my brother's name. "Totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, nobody here's good enough for him, not that I care, you know." Emma chuckled awkwardly. I wondered when he'd turned her down.

"I didn't know there were so many," I commented, and that was true. The last time I'd seen my family, it had just been Esme, Carlisle, and Edward. The night I'd run away had been the night my father had found Rosalie on the streets.

I'd run away mainly because of Rosalie. Long ago, my mother had made a promise that it would always just be us, our little family of four. That was what I could handle back then. When I saw my father rushing home, late at night, with Rosalie, bleeding her life out in his arms, I felt as though the promise had been broken. I left a note on a lamp post a couple blocks away, leaving a scent trail for Edward to follow. The note had said as follows:

_Esme,_

_I'm all right. Don't worry about me. I had to go. Five is too large for me. Besides, I want to get out. I want to travel the world, to see new things, to learn about other cultures, and to meet others of your kind. I'll come back someday, I promise. _

_Katie_

I forgot how people used to call me Katie. That had been my nickname when we'd lived in Rochester. I'd started to ask to be called Kate once I'd met Amun and his coven.

I was silly to not expect Edward to look exactly the same as he had when I'd left. Not a single feature he possessed had changed between the date of my birth and the date of my departure. I should know he wouldn't change.

Edward wasn't even looking at me, but I knew he knew I was here.

After lunch, I had gym and biology. Once I was finished at school, I took a cab to Pacific Northwest Motorbikes and bought myself a motorcycle, which I drove to the hotel. From there, I gathered my things from my room and loaded them onto the bike and drove them to the Cullens' house, using the directions I'd got on Google Earth and parked my bike outside in the driveway. I dropped my keys into my jacket pocket and zipped it up. I put the helmet on the bike's handlebars. I set my bags down on the doorstep, and then, seconds later, Edward came downstairs.

"Welcome home," he said, and smiled at me.


End file.
